


Hope and Orange Groves

by CryptidBi



Category: Dangan Ronpa - All Media Types, Dangan Ronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing, Super Dangan Ronpa 2
Genre: Danganronpa AU, Gen, Killing Game (Dangan Ronpa), New Dangan Ronpa V3 Spoilers, OC, danganronpa oc - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-29
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2021-02-27 08:34:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22024162
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CryptidBi/pseuds/CryptidBi
Summary: An au continuation of danganronpa, feat an originally self insert oc. Enjoy.
Comments: 1
Kudos: 2





	1. The World That Lies Beyond

**Author's Note:**

> This is primarily self indulgent, and practice for writing other works. It picks up directly after V3, so spoilers. Enjoy it, or don't, I don't really have feelings either way.

“Well kids, I can’t say I’ve been entirely truthful either.” The three turned to look at the stout girl, who had pulled her mask down for the first time since she emerged from her workshop. The look of weariness in their eyes hurt her heart.  
“I am Destiny Lane. I am the Ultimate Lover. I do truly act like this, you do know me as.. well as me.” She sighed, beginning to rummage about the rubble at their feet. Uncovering what looked like a phone, she picked it up and rose to her feet, extending the item, turning on its broken screen. It turned a few colors before displaying a logo of a knife plunged into a star.   
“However, I know exactly what kind of world is outside. And as much as I hate to, I have to ask you guys to trust me before I can tell you anymore.”   
“I think I recognize that logo. You wear it on dog tags that you didn’t even take off in the showers, nyeh?” Himiko asked, not even looking up from the device. Destiny nodded.  
“Why should we trust you at all? You could be lying. You could be just the same as Tsumugi” Maki’s eyes bored into Destiny’s, and she maintained eye contact.   
“That’s why I’m asking, instead of assuming you will. Although I do urge you three to make a decision quickly. The Monos will be here soon, and we’ll need to scavenge through the rubble.”   
All eyes turned to Shuichi, who’d remained silent in thought.   
“I think… we don’t have much to lose. If you know what’s outside, I’m all ears.” He mused, giving an affirming nod. The others nodded and looked to Destiny. She was a little surprised that they were so willing to follow, being that she was rather immature throughout the killing game. She took in a deep breath and looked about the rubble of what used to be the academy.   
“Well, first and foremost, find anything you want or need. Some sort of bag would be useful, water bottles, extra clothes, rope. Anything you want to keep and think you can carry. You need to work quickly though, and meet back here once you’re done.” Thusly, they broke apart and began searching. There was very little undamaged. Mostly they found personal items, but each had a bag, a change of clothes, and at least one bottle of water. Maki, Shuichi, and Himiko returned to the meeting point, wondering where Destiny had gone or if she had lied and left until she came bustling up, dragging a few items and making a massive racket.   
“Sorry I’m a hair late! I found a lot of shit!” As she said this, she dropped a number of items to the ground with a sly grin. These included one of Tenko’s bows, a still live bug in cage, photos of everyone, a faintly singed checkered handkerchief, some miscellaneous inventions, a music note hair clip, a seashell necklace, a few of Maki’s swords, a few lengths of rope, and a couple of Kaito’s coats in varying condition. In her arms, she held a small black box about the size of a rubix cube close to her, and dragged behind her was…  
“Huh?! Why’d you find one of those!?” Shuichi gestured to the monobot, rather broken but still recognizable as Monodam.  
“And how’d you find everything else?” Himiko mused quietly.  
She shrugged “Call it a hobby.” Dropping to her knees and swinging a sturdy looking backpack to the ground, she pushed the swords toward Maki before beginning to carefully pack. The last item was the black box, which was gingerly wrapped in one of the coats. She zipped up the pack, lashed the monokub to it, and swung it over her shoulder.   
“Away we go!” Destiny began marching towards the wall. They stared after her, still unsure. “Well c’mon unless you wanna take your odds with an army of dummies like him.” She jerked her thumb over her shoulder at the busted monodam. With a look, they followed after her.

\---

After finding a hole in the wall, they emerged into the blinding sunlight to find a deserted town outside, a harsh dry wind blowing through.  
“This isn’t what I was expecting.” Maki almost whispered, surveying the crumbling buildings and fields beyond. They stood in silence for a few fleeting moments before continuing. As they traveled the streets, no one spoke a word. The town appeared to be entirely for show, parts of it being completely painted facades. Parts of it had rotted, and vines grew around others. Store fronts were full of encroaching wildlife among their wares. A breeze blew through, but it only carried dead leaves. Shuichi finally broke the silence.  
“It’s so.. abandoned.”  
“Most of them are.”  
“Most of them?” queried Himiko.  
“Yes, most. They stage killing games outside of most of civilizations. It prevents too much audience interaction. These towns are purely for looks, sometimes they’re even part of the game.” Destiny waved a hand, and paused.  
“Why did we stop?” Himiko looked about, nervous about the forlorn surroundings.  
“Car,” the brunette replied “I smell a car.”  
“You smell a car?”   
“Well, I smell oil. Gas.” She picked up speed and trotted around the corner. The teens followed, curious. Partly hidden by tall grass and a facade was a rather beat up looking jeep. It looked relatively intact, although being abandoned to the elements left it a little worse for wear. “It doth appear we’re gonna be riding in style.”   
“I don’t think it’ll work.” Maki eyed the car suspiciously.  
“Oh it will!” She disappeared under the dash for a moment, then moved to pop the hood. Her upper half disappeared under the hood.  
“Are you su-” As the words left her lips, the car jumped to life. Or at least, began puttering. Destiny slammed the hood shut and jumped into the front seat, dropping her bag into the floorboard in the backseat. She motioned for the others to jump on as she buckled herself in.   
“Is it really gonna go anywhere?” Shuichi stepped into the backseat, setting his pack in his lap.   
“Better than here in about a half hour.” Destiny shuddered a little. “Anywhere but here, preferably with service.” Himiko and Maki climbed in, buckling what was left of the seatbelts. The vehicle bucked to life, and sped forward and away into the fields.

\--------

The next two hours were spent in silence, the jeep traversing the abandoned countryside. The only noise was the wind and the puttering of the jeep. Eventually, Maki spoke.  
“You seem to know much more than you let on. How much do you know about the killing games?” She looked over from the passenger seat, her bag and a katana at her feet.  
“A lot. It’s kinda my job to know.” Destiny pulled the dog tags from her shirt, eyes still on the road ahead. “The insignia is of the ‘Urban Hope Warriors’, which is my organization of choice over the Future Foundation.”  
“The Future Foundation is real?” Shuichi leaned forward intently.  
“That it is! I believe in the cause, but I and a couple others had..” she made a motion, clenching and unclenching her hand, “eh, disagreements. They’re about rebuilding civilization, where Urban is more about trying to break up killing games and providing a place for survivors to recuperate. We work hand in hand, though.”  
“So how’d you end up with us?” Himiko looked up from her singed playing cards.   
“Security failed, and I was abducted and they tried to wipe me because they thought I was the right age. It doesn’t really work on me anymore though, the memory wiping.” Destiny chuckled, “Training does wonders like that.”  
“So, how old are you then? And where are we going?” Himiko leaned forward as well.  
“I would make a joke about how you shouldn’t ask a lady how old she is, but eh. I’m 19, my first killing game at about 16. My second was about 17, and this was my third. As much as I hate to say, I actually don’t know where we’re going, I was hoping to receive a buzz from the ol’ communicator here,” She tapped the device from earlier, now sitting on the dash, “I was hoping my man Hinata would notify me where they moved.”   
“So we’re driving blind?” Maki asked dryly. As soon as Destiny opened her mouth to retort, the communicator buzzed madly. She stopped the car and pressed the button to let it through. The screen sprang to life, flashing more colors before landing on a pink and white rabbit icon.  
“Hello?” Everyone looked at the device expectantly.  
“H-h-hello Dest-tiny. Re-re-re-re-re-,” Destiny flicked the device, “turn to base! Re-return to b-base! L-last know-know-known location!” The screen suddenly went black with a loud krrzzzztt and the device seemed to completely die.   
“Damn it!” Destiny slammed her fists down on the wheel, setting off the horn and startling the teens in the vehicle. “Fuck.” She rested her forehead on the wheel, leaving the others to stare at her for a moment, the only real noise being the jeep, which was sputtering, complaining at the lack of movement. Sitting back up, she resituated herself, fixing her glasses and shoving the communicator into her coat pocket. She pressed the gas pedal and the jeep lurched forward, and onward they continued in silence.  
“Well we have a destination.” She sighed. “Good news is, we should have something to eat there, and we should be there before nightfall.” The other survivors nodded quietly as the jeep sped across the countryside.


	2. In Which our Heroes Find a Helicopter

The next few hours were spent in relative silence as the countryside melted into ghost towns that melted into a dilapidated city. Mostly, they were breathing in the fresh air and enjoying the real sunlight on their skin.Eventually, the jeep came to a rolling stop in front of what looked like an average office building, the sun-bleached sign on the front proclaiming that its previous host had been ‘Orange Grove Publishings’. The vehicle then hiccuped, sputtered for a moment, and died. Destiny patted the dash.  
“Thanks friend,”she whispered before turning to the others, who were too busy staring at the brick building, “Welp, we’re here. We should get in before something notices we’ve arrived.” Unbuckling, she stood, straightening her coat. Himiko was the first to stand, putting her cards into the satchel. The others unbuckled and followed.  
“We have to go around the back, and up the fire escape. We always kept the ground floor locked up to prevent any monos coming in.” She reached into the back, pulling out her pack and the monokub attached to it. They walked around the side of the building to find a rusting but rather sturdy looking fire escape, its ladder still up. Destiny trotted ahead and grabbed a hooked pole lying at the base of the wall, swinging it up and catching the lowest rung. With a yank, it came down with a crash.  
“Everybody up! Quickly because I just alerted anything in the area to our location.” They clambered up the ladder, ready to indoors, out of the approaching sunset. Destiny climbed up last, using the hooked pole to pull the ladder up and dropping the pole against the wall with a clang. “You want the level that’s currently a practical cloud of spinach. The window should be unlocked.” Sure enough, about 3 levels up was a floor of the fire escape shrouded in oval shaped leaves. The teens continued up the escape and in through the window.  
Inside was a room that resembled Destiny’s quarters at the academy, but more bare. It had a larger bed and a second dresser, as well as being much more sensible overall. The nightstands and bookshelf were bare, unnervingly empty. Across from the bed were several large monitors on a desk littered with a variety of documents. A monobot with large pointed ears flat on its head sat in the corner dejectedly.   
“What room is this?” Shuichi asked, sitting on the edge of the made bed.   
“This is- er, was Hajime and I’s room. It appears they’ve moved, at least according to the fact it’s more bare than normal. He did leave the computer and my most recent toy though.” Destiny plopped her bag next to the desk, and went to investigate the monobot. Himiko watched with interest as she took its face and pressed the nose on its face. The bot’s eyes lit up, flickered a few times, the tail behind it twitching before shutting off again. “Aw you’re out of power.”  
“Why do you have monobots again?” Himiko asked as she pet the dark orange fur on the bot’s face, which was surprisingly soft to the touch.  
“I told you, it’s a hobby. I take old robots and give them proper life. I was taught by my friend Nozomi. She firmly believed that they didn’t want to hurt us, they simply were forced to so she rebuilt them. She..” Destiny took a shaky deep breath, “she passed away during my first killing game.” Silence fell as they all looked at the monobot. “No matter. There is no time for old grief.” She sniffed and stood back up. Maki looked back towards the computer, pressing the on button. The computer flashed colors like the communicator before displaying the logo, accompanied by pinging. The webcam powered on and Destiny walked over to be in view, sitting next to Shuichi. The pinging continued for a minute before a young man appeared on one of the monitors.   
The young man was well dressed, although he looked a little ruffled as though he’d run to the monitor. He had spiky short brown hair with an equally pointy ahoge, but more strikingly, his right eye was a soft green, and his left was a brilliant crimson. He seemed overjoyed at the sight of them.  
“Destiny! And... others?” His voice, although suddenly confused, matched the broken transmission received earlier that day.   
“Hajime!” Destiny responded, grinning. “I can’t tell you how great it is to see your face!”   
“Likewise! I thought you were dead, or ended up in a killing game. Naturally we had to move after the breach but I sent out a continuous signal in hopes you were still alive. Who’s with you?”   
“I did end up in a killing game. These are my friends Himiko, Maki, and Shuichi” She gestured to each as she spoke. “They’re survivors.”  
“Good to hear that! Where are the others?” Hajime tilted his head slightly.  
“There are no others, only us.” Maki said curtly, the others looking down.  
“Oh” Hajime’s smile dropped immediately, concern in his face. A brief silence followed, everyone unsure of what to say.  
“Well, where’s base now? How do we get there?” Destiny looked up, hopeful and ready to be home.  
“There’s the chopper on the roof, and your newest ‘toy’ knows how to fly it, as well as having the coordinates. Leaving at nightfall, it’ll take you almost all night, but there’s rations on board.”   
“One problem. The bot’s out of power.” Himiko pointed to said cat-like monobot in the corner.  
“I think I left a battery in your workshop. I can’t really send anyone out to you, it’s too dangerous. Oh, and Destiny? Please get the thing out of your safe. I couldn’t remember the combination, so I couldn’t take it when we moved. Hajime out.” He disconnected, the monitors shutting off on their end too.   
“Well, there’s no time to waste, with nightfall fast approaching. Himiko, Maki, go down the hall and to the right, you should find my workshop with the battery. Shuichi, stay with me, I’m gonna need some help getting the thing.” The girls nodded and headed down the hall. Destiny stood, dusting herself off, Shuichi following suit.   
“So what is this, uh, thing?” He asked a little nervously.   
“Well it sure is something. It’s hard to explain exactly what it is, it just may be a little disagreeable. Help me move this bookcase.” She very calmly went over to the bookcase, attempting to move it forward.  
“It may be disagreeable?!” He obliged, helping push the case out of the way, but he was three times as nervous. Behind the bookcase was a safe about the size of an oven with a large dial on the front, which Destiny began unlocking immediately. With a few quiet clicks, the door popped open, swinging outwards. Inside was a handgun in a holster, some ammo, and more notably, a monobot about a foot in height, laying on its side with its back to the opening. Pulling the gun and ammo out and setting them aside, she then reached in with both hands and pulled out the bot, which made a groaning noise. Upon Shuichi’s closer inspection, the bot didn’t seem to have a definable species, mostly just wrapped in its own arms.   
“Hold it.” She handed the thing to Shuichi. The thing groaned in his arms seemingly leaning into him.   
“Why does it groan?” As he spoke, it seemed to wrap itself tighter.  
“It doesn’t like moving. It’s just opinionated like that.” She removed her coat and used it to take the thing from him, wrapping it. “It doesn’t really speak, and won’t let me work on it. Not a Kuma at least, but it likes staying still or being held. Here.” She handed it back, which it groaning affirmingly.   
Maki and Himiko reentered the room, Himiko holding the battery. Destiny gingerly took it, kneeled by the cat-bot, and popped the backing. Replacing the battery and pressing the nose, the bot’s eye flickered once, twice, and stayed on.   
“Good evening!” the cat proclaimed “My name is Juice! I’m here to take you home!” Juice stood, teetering for a moment before righting itself.   
“Juice. Hajime named you didn’t he? I wanna say I’m surprised, but honestly I’m not.” Destiny chuckled, standing and grabbing her bag and the gun. “Load up guys. We’re headed to the roof.”

\---

The last rays of the day illuminated the rooftop and the shape of a helicopter, casting the rest of the city in darkness. Juice opened the side, hopping inside and waddling to the front. The gang climbed inside, placing their bags in between the seats and buckling in. Destiny was the last to enter, and closed the side behind them. Maki found the rations, which happened to be cereal bars. Nonetheless welcomed by the hungry band as Juice started the chopper. The dark city allowed the night sky to shine through, more stars than seemingly possible filling every space.   
“Kaito would’ve loved this sky..” Maki said, hardly above a whisper. Everyone bowed their heads in agreement, each missing friends lost to the savage game they had barely escaped. The silence remained heavy like a wet towel for what seemed an eternity.   
“Y’all should get some rest. It’s been a long, long day.” Destiny rummaged under her chair and pulled out a blanket. “There should be one underneath all the chairs as well as earplugs. I’m gonna stay awake for a while longer.” She spread the blanket on her lap as the others pulled out whatever and situated themselves. The motley crew drifted asleep, as the eldest watched the countryside roll into the ocean.

\----


	3. Side Tracked

When Shuichi awoke, Destiny was up from her seat, talking in hushed voice to Juice. It was still very, very dark. The others were still asleep, undisturbed on the other side of the helicopter, so he didn’t move and instead listened to the conversation.   
“Juice, we have to make a slight detour. We can’t leave her! I refuse!” She hissed, leaning over into the cockpit.   
“Ma’am we can’t! Hajime is expecting us!” Juice didn’t move an inch from the pilot’s seat.   
“Juicey, Haj will understand, and she’ll die if we don’t go get her! You know, the point of a distress signal right? I did program that into your little cat skull?” she tapped the orange feline’s head. “It won’t even take very long! C’mon..” The robot hummed seemingly weighing his options, then the helicopter moved slightly to the right. “I knew you’d see it my way Juicey!”   
Destiny hummed quietly on her way back to her seat, but froze when she noticed Shuichi watching her in the dark cabin.  
“Uh, good midnight, Sushi? You should sleep a little longer. We’ll be just a hair delayed” She chuckled nervously, hoping he hadn’t heard her arguing with Juice.   
“Where are you really taking us?” She could feel his eyes staring, despite the darkness.  
“I’m taking you to base, just as promised, it’s just there’s a short, uh, detour.”  
“You were lying.”  
“At the time I wasn’t. But something came up, and I for one, do not intend on leaving one of my good friends to die when it’s even on the way to base. I don’t leave friends to die.” She spat harshly, sitting back in her chair before taking a few deep breaths. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be rude. I promise you that you and the girls will be safe, even if that means I have to die instead.” In the lights of the panel, her face was partly illuminated. “You have my word.” 

\---

The closer they got to their detour, the more antsy Destiny became, hand wandering to the weapon holstered on her hip. Maki and Himiko woke up not terribly long after Shuichi, and were informed of the detour. It was still dark out when a small island lit up like a circus came into view.   
“That must be it. Go in close Juice.” The brunette edged back towards the cockpit fiddling with the radio. “Kyo can you hear me? What side of the island are you on?” Static filled the cockpit, then a female voice responded.   
“East side, by the clearing. Thought it’d be easier. Hurry.”   
“We’ll be there in two tics” She placed the radio back onto the console and moved towards the door. The helicopter circled, finding the clearing in question, and landed rather abruptly, making the teens glad they were buckled. No sooner were they landed then Destiny rip open the door and a purple haired young woman already running towards the vehicle. What looked like a mass of black and white followed at her heels.  
“Come on Kyoko!” The name tickled the insides of Shuichi’s head, although he couldn’t think as to why. The woman reached them and she slammed the door shut hard enough to make the still whirring blades shudder.   
“Fly!” The moment the word had left her lips, the wave was upon them. The blades whirred upwards, throwing parts of the mass.   
“They’re Monokumas!” Maki cried in disbelief. The mass melted back into just black and white as the chopper took to the air.  
“I’m going to guess these guys are new?” The woman, presumably Kyo, panted. She looked more than ruffled, and a little bloody.   
“That they are. We just survived a killing game and were headed to the new base when I heard your distress call.” Destiny embraced the woman, who returned the hug. When they released, she bumped her forehead with her palm. “Oh duh! Guys, this is Kyoko, the original ultimate detective! She went up against Junko herself. Kyoko, this is Himiko, Maki, and Shuichi, the new ultimate detective. Now sit down won’t you?” She practically pushed her into one of the chairs before digging through to find a first aid kit.   
Kyoko answered many questions as Destiny quietly and devotedly patched and cleaned her cuts and other wounds. It was almost dawn when she was fully patched up. “Still surprises me that they chose ‘lover’ as your talent.” Kyoko mused as she inspected the large gash which had been very tidily dressed. “Seems like a terribly small title for everything you seem to be good at.”   
“Well, it’s closer than my first talent isn’t it?” She laughed. “‘Ultimate Observer’, my ass.”  
“Ultimate Lover is your second talent?” Himiko queried.  
“It was ‘gifted’ to me in my second killing game. It’s more befitting, even though it was used in spite by Monokuma. I was always trying to peacemake arguments, so I was a lover, not a fighter. I personally think I live up to it after becoming the den mom at base” Destiny moved to sit next to Himiko and Maki,adding much more quietly “among other reasons.” Suddenly the radio buzzed to life, and Juice played it aloud.  
“Where are you!?” came the agitated voice of Hajime on the other end. “You were supposed to be here an hour ago! What happened Juice? I thought you were functioning!”  
“Boss, I swear I-”   
“That’s my fault Hajiii” Destiny drew out the last syllable “I convinced Juice to change course a little to pick up a hitchhiker”  
“Hello Hinata” Kyoko spoke up. A gruff hello could be heard from the other side, and Juice began rattling off coordinates and an ETA before hanging up.

Everyone chatted about this and that quietly for a while until one question arose.  
“What are you and Hajime?” Kyoko asked fairly innocently.  
“What do you mean what are we? We’re human..” Destiny laughed, poorly trying to deflect the question.   
“I’ve been wondering that too.” Maki mused “You mentioned you shared a room.”  
“You use nicknames too, and were more than overjoyed to see each other” Himiko added beginning to be interested as well.   
“Well…” She squirmed, turning faintly pink. “If he’d man up, I’d be his girlfriend. I mean we’re close. I really need to put my foot down, but it’s really hard for me to not accept the attention. I really crave... affection... But I’d appreciate no more prying.” The gang more or less shrugged and dropped the subject.   
\----  
“The island’s in sight!” Juicy called to the passengers, who had been resting in the short time before arriving. Dawn had truly arrived, the sky bathed in pinks and oranges. The island in question was pretty large, a dense concentration of buildings in the bay on one side of the island. It looked like the cover of a travel brochure.  
“Wow, what an upgrade.” Himiko mused as they made their descent towards the landing pad. After Juice gave the all clear and the door opened to the chopper, a throng of about 15 teens and young adults poured out of the buildings to greet them. Kyoko, being closest to the door, stepped out and was enthusiastically greeted by the mob. The teens still inside were far less ready to step out. There was a stir and Hajime pushed his way to the front.   
“Sorry about them, I accidentally let it slip to Sonia and Akane that we had new survivors arriving on top of you returning, so naturally the whole island knows. It’s a pleasure to meet all of you in person though.” He rubbed the back of his head and offered a hand to help each of them step down. Destiny was the last to step down and the moment her feet hit solid ground, she practically threw herself into his arms. They tightly embraced, him spinning her around a bit before releasing. She smooched his nose and went to protect the kids from the enthusiastic members. Himiko was found first, engaged in bright conversation with Sonia and others about magic, so Destiny left them be, although waving to them. Gobban, the ultimate weapons smith, was pelting Maki with questions about the make of her weapons, and various jargon about swords. She seemed more than happy to answer the avalanche of questions he spewed. Shuichi was chatting with Tai and Etsuko, Ultimate Deckhand and Architect respectfully, full of questions. The teens seemed truly excited for the first time in days, and she wasn’t going to put an early stop to it. Instead, she returned to Hajime, embracing him again and burying her face in his shoulder. They stayed like that for a long while, taking in each other's company after so long apart, talking quietly. Eventually, the crowd dispersed to their various jobs, the orange and pink having turned to blue. The newest survivors looked to Destiny, spirits much higher than when they arrived. Removing herself from the hug, she addressed them.   
“Well I hope the warm reception helped overall. As to lodging, I think Haj said that the new cabin has extra room specifically for new folks right?” She turned to look at him and he nodded in affirmation, so she turned back. “Not glamourous or fancy, but it’s safe and dry.” Juice crawled down from the whirlybird, carrying all the bags. “So who’s ready to settle in?”


End file.
